Australian wine industry icon Dr Richard Smart – ‘The Flying Vine Doctor’ – passed away in Victoria on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.
Andrew Caillard MW described him as “a remarkable man who brought much sunshine through the canopy of the Australian wine industry”.
Involved with viticulture since 1966, he travelled the world at the height of his career visiting vineyards and consulting to winemakers and grapegrowers.
Richard consulted to more than 300 clients in the industry in about 40 countries.
He was a prolific writer who penned hundreds of papers and articles for various wine industry publications.
Richard wrote numerous books including the landmark Sunlight Into Wine and was a regular speaker at seminars and conferences around the world.
He was an engaging personality known for his humour.
Friend and wine industry publisher Patrick Iland led the tributes: “I was saddened to hear of Richard Smart’s passing.
“I met Richard when he was at Roseworthy Agricultural College and stayed in contact with him throughout his following career.
“He inspired me to discover the world of viticulture and largely influenced my career in this field.
“Many have been influenced by Richard’s teaching and research.
“He had a very creative mind and will be remembered for his research in canopy management and promotion of climate change issues.
“He will be remembered around the world.”
Dudley Brown from Inkwell in McLaren Vale said: “Australia’s greatest contribution to the world of wine, bar none.
“He was ahead of his time and generous with his time to the end.”
Richard graduated from Sydney University with Honours in Agricultural Science in 1966 and earned another three degrees.
His M.Sc (Hons) from Macquarie University in Sydney was awarded to a study of sunlight use by vineyards.
In 2005 Decanter named him among the 50 most powerful names in wine.
Richard won numerous awards including Fellow of the Australian Society for Viticulture and Oenology in 2018 and Best Technical Writer in the Wine Communicators of Australia Awards in 2015.
Over the past twenty years Richard wrote numerous articles about the threat of climate change and its ramifications for the Australian wine industry.
Despite his ill health in recent times, Richard was consulting to a vineyard as late as February this year.
Richard will perhaps be remembered most for bringing viticulture to the forefront of an industry that had traditionally been all about the winemaker.
A memorial to celebrate Richard’s life will be held on Thursday 17 July at 1.30pm in Glenroy, Melbourne. It will be livestreamed.
Photo: Milton Wordley.